Press Release

Kia Motors posts 3.9% decrease in June global sales

- 110,320 Kia vehicles sold globally in June
- Sales in North America, Europe, China, general markets and Korea post year-on-year sales growth of -3.0%, -2.3%, -29.7%, 16.7% and -8.3%, respectively
- Cumulative sales reach 618,181, an increase of 0.1% year-on-year
- Sales of new cee’d climbs to sixth best-selling model in export markets
(SEOUL) July 5, 2007 -- Kia Motors Corporation announced today that its global sales (export sales, domestic sales and sales from overseas plants) of passenger cars, recreation vehicles (RVs) and light trucks in June 2007 recorded 110,320, representing a 3.9% year-on-year decrease.
By region, Kia’s general markets posted a year-on-year sales increase of 16.7% in June with 17,988 units sold. Meanwhile, sales of Kia vehicles in North America, Europe, China and Korea were 29,528 units (3.0% year-on-year decrease), 32,766 units (2.3% year-on-year decrease), 8,028 units (29.7% year-on-year decrease) and 22,010 units (8.3% year-on-year decrease), respectively.
Cumulatively through the first half of 2007, Kia’s global sales increased by 0.1% year-on-year and reached 618,191 units. The North America market has experienced the largest gain selling 170,950 units to date, a 5.7% increase while the general markets and Korea market showed cumulative year-on-year sales growth of 2.9% and 2.6%, selling 88,850 and 133,645 units, respectively. The Europe market is also performing well showing a small cumulative year-on-year sales decline of 1.1%.
So far in 2007, Kia’s best selling model in export markets has been the C-segment Cerato (known as ‘Spectra’ in some markets) with 96,808 units sold, followed by the A-segment Picanto with 60,443 and Kia’s Sportage compact SUV with 60,140. Meanwhile, B-segment Rio and the Carnival MPV (known as ‘Sedona’ in some markets) continue to perform well, selling 56,369 and 45,577 units, respectively.
Kia’s new cee’d, the automaker’s first car designed and built by and for Europeans, almost registered as a top-five seller in June export markets coming in sixth with an impressive 7,670 units sold. The cee’d is a family of compact vehicles that, since December 2006, is being produced at Kia’s new €1 billion, state-of-the-art facility in Zilina, Slovakia. To date, the cee’d has been receiving rave comparative reviews in Europe’s most respected automotive publications.
By vehicle category sold, Kia’s RVs sold 32,850 units in June, an increase of 3.5% year-on-year. Sales of passenger cars were down 4.9% in June, selling 51,887, but cumulatively have shown a year-on-year sales growth of 2.8%, reaching 289,547 units sold in 2007.
Yong-Hwan Kim, Senior Executive Vice President and COO of Kia Motors Corporation, said, “Half way into the year, we are encouraged by our consistent growth in North America, despite a strong Korean won, as we have eclipsed strong sales figures from this point last year. And it is impressive to see the first sales of the cee’d registering strongly on the back of such positive, perception changing reviews in Europe’s leading automotive media.”
Editor’s notes:
* Global sales figures are based upon CBU export sales and sales from overseas and Korean production plants
** Includes figures from Western and Eastern European markets
***General markets includes the regions of Central and South America, Asia and the Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa
Kia Motors Corporation (www.kia.com) -- one of the fastest growing automakers in the world -- was founded in 1944 and is Korea’s oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles. As part of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, Kia aims to become one of the world’s premier automotive brands. Kia’s 12 manufacturing and assembly operations in 8 countries produce more than 1.3 million vehicles a year that are sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering 165 countries. Kia today has over 33,000 employees and annual revenues of almost $19 billion. It is the major sponsor of the Australian Tennis Open and an official worldwide sponsor of the Davis Cup. From 2007 to 2014, Kia will be an official automotive partner of FIFA -- the governing body of the FIFA World Cup. Kia Motors Corporation’s brand slogan -- “The Power to Surprise” -- represents the company’s global commitment to surpassing customer expectations through continuous-automotive innovation.